“He is very brave, I think,” said Patsy.  “This affair must have hurt his pride, but he smiles through it all.  In his condition of health, the confinement and humiliation may well shorten his life, yet he has made no murmur.”

“He’s good stuff, that boy,” commented Uncle John.  “Perhaps it is due to that John Paul blood his father was so proud of.”

When Arthur went into the lobby a little later he found Le Drieux seated comfortably and smoking a long cigar.  The pearl expert nodded to the young ranchman with so much evident satisfaction that Arthur could not resist engaging him in conversation.

“Well, you won,” he remarked, taking a vacant chair beside Le Drieux.

“Yes, of course,” was the reply; “but I’ll admit that fellow Andrews is a smooth one.  Why, at one time he had even me puzzled with his alibis and his evidence.  That flash of the pearls was the cleverest trick I ever heard of; but it didn’t go, I’d warned the judge to look out for a scoop.  He knew he was dealing with one of the most slippery rogues in captivity.”

“See here, Le Drieux,” said Arthur; “let us be honest with one another, now that the thing is settled and diplomacy is uncalled for.  Do you really believe that Jones is Jack Andrews?”

“Me?  I know it, Mr. Weldon.  I don’t pose as a detective, but I’m considered to have a shrewd insight into human character, and from the first moment I set eyes on him I was positive that Jones was the famous Jack Andrews.  I can understand how you people, generous and trusting, have been deceived in the fellow; I admire the grit you’ve all shown in standing by him to the last.  I haven’t a particle of malice toward any one of you, I assure you—­not even toward Andrews himself.”

“Then why have you bounded him so persistently?”

“For two reasons.” said Le Drieux.  “As a noted pearl expert, I wanted to prove my ability to run down the thief; and, as a man in modest circumstances, I wanted the reward.”

“How much will you get?”

“All together, the rewards aggregate twenty thousand dollars.  I’ll get half, and my firm will get half.”

“I think,” said Arthur, to test the man, “that Jones would have paid you double that amount to let him alone.”

Le Drieux shook his head; then he smiled.

“I don’t mind telling you, Mr. Weldon—­in strict confidence, of course—­that I approached Jones on that very subject, the day he was placed in jail.  He must have been sure his tricks would clear him, for he refused to give me a single penny.  I imagine he is very sorry, right now; don’t you, sir?”

“No,” said Arthur, “I don’t.  I still believe in his innocence.”

Le Drieux stared at him incredulously.

“What, after that examination of to-day?” he demanded.

“Before and after.  There was no justice in the decision of Judge Wilton; he was unduly prejudiced.”

“Be careful, sir!”